People have been making comments along the lines of
"It wouldn't surprise me if the fat man part funded Green & Ahmad's purchase of the club in exchange for everything they just handed over to him. "
There is absolutely no doubt about that, and it's all there in the paperwork, right from the start. The shareholding, laid out in the prospectus was
Charles Green 5,000,200 14.96%
Blue Pitch Holding 4,000,000 11.97%
Mike Ashley 3,000,000 8.98%
Margarita Funds Holding Trust 2,600,000 7.78%
Richard Hughes 2,200,000 6.58%
Imran Ahmad 2,200,000 6.58%
Craig Mather 1,800,000 5.39%
Norne Anstalt 1,200,000 3.59%
So Ashley was one of the main investors in Green's original company.
It is reasonable to say that this relationship led directly to the Rangers Retail arrangement (the previous deal), which then led to this contract.
There is no doubt whatsoever that Ashley has been involved and been manipulating this right from the very beginning.